Descripción de Schiff: ‘Big problem’ if President Trump is making up his wiretap claim

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioJUDY WOODRUFF: And we turn now to the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. He is Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California. Congressman Schiff, welcome back to the program. What’s the main thing that you think was clarified at today’s hearing? REP. ADAM SCHIFF, D-Calif.: Well, I think a number of things. First, I think Director Comey made the case that he had opened an investigation into potential agency with a foreign power or coordination with a foreign power. That’s not done unless there is specific and credible information or evidence that someone is colluding. I also think that it was significant that you had two directors directly rebuff the president’s claims that he was illegally wiretapped or wiretapped at all by his predecessor. But more than that, I think the main takeaway, I hope, for the country from the hearing is a recognition of just what serious business this is, because, as Director Comey says, the Russians will do this again. And we really need a thorough investigation to determine just what the Russians did, how did they do it, were there U.S. persons involved, and how do we protect ourselves from their future efforts to interfere? JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I hear you say this, Congressman Schiff, and yet President Trump tweeted today that Admiral Rogers and the FBI director, Jim Comey, told Congress that Russia didn’t influence the electoral process in the United States last year. So, that doesn’t seem to square with what you just said. REP. ADAM SCHIFF: Well, it didn’t square with what the witnesses said at the hearing either. And that was pointed by my colleague Jim Himes, who followed up with both directors and did some real-time fact-checking on the president. And, of course, that’s not what the directors said. The directors can’t really comment. It’s not their mission, their job or their expertise to say what effect the Russian interference had in terms of outcomes, but clearly they interfered with the electoral process. And here’s the problem. If the president is going to distort what the intelligence community says in open hearing, how can we have confidence when the president comes before the country to share what the intelligence agencies have told him in closed, classified session, because the country needs to know, because the president wants to take action, where the president needs to decide what the response should be to North Korea or around Iran? How can we have confidence that the president is being truthful? And the short answer is, if he keeps this up, we can’t. And that’s a real danger to the country. JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, what does that mean, Congressman Schiff? What are you saying you’re worried that could happen? REP. ADAM SCHIFF: Well, the best example I can give is, let’s say, six months from now, the president says that Iran is cheating on the nuclear deal. Obviously, if Iran isn’t cheating, that’s a big problem. If he’s making this up, the way he’s making up the claim that Barack Obama wiretapped him, that’s a big problem. If the president is telling the truth, in a way, it’s a bigger problem, because, will he be believed? Will he be believed by the American people? Will he be believed by our allies that he needs to rally to reimpose sanctions or take some other action against Iran? Each time the president undermines his own credibility, he weakens himself, he weakens the institution of the presidency, he weakens the credibility of the entire country and our standing in the rest of the world. And when there is a crisis, we pay a dear pr...